Gun incident at San Angelo elementary school scrutinized

SAN ANGELO, Texas - On Dec. 3, a third-grader at Glenmore Elementary School brought a handgun to school and threatened to kill two of her classmates, a parent said Friday.

The firearm wasn't loaded and the mechanism was broken, but Elizabeth Cardona said she would still like to have known that her daughter had been threatened with a gun by another student, who lives nearby.

Cardona said she was told about the incident Thursday, 10 days after it occurred, by her daughter's teacher.

"What horrified me the most is that the principal didn't let authorities or parents know about any of this," Cardona said Friday. "I'm still concerned because she lives next to us. How do I know she won't bring something else out, like a bat, to hurt her?"

Steve Gill, executive director of schools for the San Angelo Independent School District, said he was familiar with the incident. The SAISD code of conduct, he said, specifies that an offense of that nature "warrants removal from the classroom to an alternative setting."

The decision about whether to involve agencies outside the school system and which of those agencies to call, Gill said, "takes into account the age of the kid, the intent, and any other variables that apply." Gill declined to specify which agency or agencies were brought in to deal with the situation Dec. 3 at Glenmore.

"If a firearm is involved, we are going to be notifying the police. We expect our principals to notify the police," he said. The principal is also expected to notify any parents whose children were affected, he said.

"When we become aware of situation where a student might have a weapon, we look at where student is, safely remove the student and bring them to the office, and find out what is involved," he said.

When asked whether the procedures were followed Dec. 3 at Glenmore, Gill said, "The notification process is going to be reviewed in this matter."

San Angelo Assistant Police Chief Robert Martinez said Friday he was aware of the Glenmore incident. A report was filed Friday, he said, but he was not familiar with the content of the report.